New Backpacks and Beginnings

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Crossing East 149th Street in the Bronx, Yahaira Lopez and her children, Alex (seventh grade) and Allison (second grade), make their way to Saint Anselm Parochial School.CreditCreditKarsten Moran for The New York Times

New pencils (do they still use pencils?), bright backpacks (they still have those) and first-day jitters: Back to school is upon us. For the little ones entering classrooms for the first time, there may be tears. But for the veterans like middle schoolers and high school teens, there is stoicism. Crisp in uniforms or clad in trendy clothes — a sort of schoolyard armor — they stride out of summer and over zebra street crossings with purpose, catching up with old friends, and perhaps, for a secret second, grasping a parent’s hand.

Time to learn, time to grow up, just a little more.

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Getting school calendars — for those who like to plan in advance — at Junior High School 189, Daniel Carter Beard in Flushing, Queens.CreditAn Rong Xu for The New York Times

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Calming first-day jitters before classes at PS/MS 5 Port Morris in the Bronx.CreditKarsten Moran for The New York Times

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Walking into a new school year at Daniel Carter Beard.CreditAn Rong Xu for The New York Times

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Guiding students and parents at PS/MS 5 Port Morris. Maria Soler is a music teacher there.CreditKarsten Moran for The New York Times

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Making conversation, or not, at PS/MS 5 Port Morris. CreditKarsten Moran for The New York Times

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Sneaking in that last hug before classes begin at PS/MS 5 Port Morris.CreditKarsten Moran for The New York Times

Sarah Maslin Nir covers breaking news for the Metro section. She was a Pulitzer Prize finalist for her series “Unvarnished,” an investigation into New York City’s nail salon industry that documented the exploitative labor practices and health issues manicurists face.